Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Hits New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Canadian Natural Resources reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $54.01, while its consensus analyst target is $57.00. Analysts overall rate the stock “Moderate Buy,” with one Strong Buy, six Buys and four Holds.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.58, exceeding the $1.43 consensus estimate, and revenue of $14.74 billion versus expectations of $9.40 billion. Its market capitalization is approximately $110.3 billion, with a P/E ratio of 13.26.
• Canadian Natural Resources pays a quarterly dividend of C$0.62 per share, equivalent to an annualized C$2.50 and a 4.7% yield; its payout ratio is 44.44%. Institutional investors own 74.03% of the company.

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ's stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $54.01 and last traded at $53.9450, with a volume of 171,198 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $53.80.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on CNQ. Weiss Ratings upgraded Canadian Natural Resources from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. TD Securities restated a "buy" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Desjardins raised shares of Canadian Natural Resources to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Canadian Natural Resources from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $110.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $49.58 and a 200 day moving average of $46.59.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $14.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.40 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 22.78%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 4.10 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a dividend of C$0.62 per share. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. Canadian Natural Resources's payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 7,447 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 15,199 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $747,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,854 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 93,840 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $4,573,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in Canadian Natural Resources by 2.0% in the third quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 15,084 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $782,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.03% of the company's stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

Canadian Natural Resources Limited is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production, marketing and sale of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its portfolio includes conventional and unconventional petroleum assets, heavy crude oil operations, and oil sands projects that produce bitumen and synthetic crude oil.

The company's principal operations are located in Western Canada, including oil sands and conventional assets in Alberta and natural gas properties in Alberta and British Columbia.

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